Supreme Court of India
MADHYA PRADESH HOUSING BOARD ETC.versusMOHD. SHAFI AND ORS. ETC.
- Citation
- 1992 INSC 44
- Decided
- 13 February 1992
- Disposal
- Dismissed
- Bench
- M H KANIA
Holding
A notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act that fails to specify the precise locality and a clear public purpose is void and vitiates the entire acquisition proceeding.
Summary
The Madhya Pradesh Government issued a notification under Sections 4(1) and 17(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to acquire 2.298 hectares of land in Mandsaur for a "residential" purpose, followed by a declaration under Section 6(1). The respondents challenged the validity of the notification, arguing that it failed to specify the exact locality (no khasra numbers or precise description) and that the stated public purpose was vague, and that the urgency provision of Section 17(1) could not be invoked because the land was not waste or arable. The High Court quashed the acquisition proceedings. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that a Section 4 notification must give a clear description of the land and a specific public purpose; any defect in this mandatory notice cannot be cured by a later declaration and vitiates the entire acquisition process. Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petitions, upholding the High Court’s decision.
Issues considered
- The validity of a Section 4(1) notification when it does not precisely describe the locality of the land to be acquired.
- Whether the description of the public purpose as "residential" satisfies the statutory requirement of specificity under the Land Acquisition Act.
- Whether the urgency provisions of Section 17(1) can be invoked when the land is not waste or arable.
- Whether a defect in the Section 4 notification can be remedied by a subsequent declaration under Section 6.
Legislation cited
- Land Acquisition Act, 1894s. 17(1), s. 4(1), s. 6(1)
Subjects
Land acquisitionSection 4 notificationPublic purposeVaguenessUrgency provisionSection 17Statutory complianceProperty rights
Judgment
MADHYA PRADESH HOUSING BOARD ETC. A
v.
MOHD. SHAFI AND ORS. ETC.
FEBRUARY 13, 1992
[M.H. KANIA, CJ., T.K. THOMMEN AND A.S. ANAND, JJ.] B
Land Acquisition Act, 1894:
•
Sections 4(1), 6( 1) and 17(1)-Acquisition of Land-Notification not
_...1.. ' disclosing with sufficient clarity details of land and public purpose for which C
land was sought to be acquired-Validity of
On a request from the Executive Engineer of the petitioner Housing
Board, the State Government issued a notification under Sections ~(I) and
17(1) of the Land Acqui-sition Act and a declaration under Section 6 of
the Act for the acquisition of 2.298 hectares of land in the village men- D
tioned in the Schedule to the Notification under Section 4(1), for the
purpose of construction of buildings and shops under self financing
scheme.
The respondent filed a Writ Petition before the High Court challeng-
ing the validity of the notification as also the declaration, on various
E
grounds, including that the notification under Section 4(1) of the Act was
vague and invalid for non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of
the Act and that recourse to the urgency provisions under Section 17(1)
of the Act could not be had since the land was not ''waste or arable", which
was sine qua iwn for exercising powers under Section 17(1) of the Act. F
Allowing the Writ Petition, the High Court quashed the acquisition
proceedings. Hence the appellant, the Madhya Pradesh Housing Board
filed Special Leave Petition before this Court. On behalf of the appellant
Board, it was contended that since the acquisition of land had been made
at the request of the Housing Board of a large extent of land, absence of G
providing detailed particulars of the land or the locality where it was
situate, could not vitiate the notification, more so, when sufficient par-
ticulars had been provided in the declaration issued under Section 6(1) of
the Act wherein it had also been indicated that the site plan of the land
was available in the office of the Collector; that the "public purpose" H
657
658 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992] 1 S.C.R.
A mentioned in the schedule to the notification issued under Sections 4(1)
and 17(1) of the Act, as also in the notification issued under Section 6(1)
of the Act, was sufficiently clear and the finding of the High Court that the
notifications were vague on that account wils incorrect and that absence.
of a finalised housing scheme could not vitiate the acquisition proceedings
and that the High Court was in error in holding that recourse could not
B be had to the urgency provisions under Section 17 of the Act.
Dismissing the Special Leave Petitions, this Court
HELD : 1. The High Court was right in holding that the notification
C in question was vitated on account of being vague an? for non-compliance
with the mandatory requirements of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
[667C]
2.1. The process of acquisition has to start with a notification issued
under Section 4 of the Act, which is mandatory, and even in cases of
D urgency, the issuance of notification under Section 4 is a condition prece-
dent to the exer~ise of any further powers under the Act. Any notification
which is aimed at depriving a man of his property, issued under Section
4 of the Land Acquisition Act has to be strictly construed and any serious
lapse on the part of the acquiring authority would vitiate the proceedings
E and cannot be ignored by the courts. [662H; 663A-B]
• 2.2. The object of issuing a notification under Section 4 of the Act is
two-fold. First, it is a public announcement by the Government and a
public notice by the Collector to the effect that the land, as specified
therein, is needed or is likely to be needed by the Government for the
F "public purpose" mentioned therein; and secondly, it authorises the
departmental officers or officers of the local authority, as the case may be
to do all such acts as are mentioned in Section 4(2) of the Act. .The
notification has to be published in the locality and particularly persons
likely to be affected by the proposal have to be put on notice that such an
activity is afoot. The notification is, thus, required to give with sufficient
G clarity not only the "public purpose" for which the acquisition proceedings
are being commenced but also the "locality" where the land is situate with
, as full a description as possible of the land proposed to be acquired to
enable the "interested" persons to know as to which land is being acquired
and for what purpose and to take further steps under the Act by filing
H objections etc., since it is open to such persons to canvass the non-
M.P. HOUSING BOARD v. MOHD. SHAFI 659
suitability of the land for the alleged "public purpose" also. If a notification A
under Section 4(1) of the Act is defective and does not comply With the
requirements of the Act, it not only vitiates the notification, but also
renders all subsequent proceedings connected with the acquisition bad.
[663B-E]
Narendrajit Singh and Anr. v. State of U.P. & Anr., [1970] 3 SCR 278 B
and Munshi Singh & Others etc. etc. v. Union of India etc. etc., [1973] 1 SCR
973, referred to.
23. In the instant case, the description of the land in the notification
issued under Sections 4(1) and 17(1), is very cryptic. Not only no khasra C
numbers have been given, even the precise "locality" has not been indicated.
Mere mention of the name of the village, which is spread over an area of
25 sq. kms. and is divided into various municipal wards, against the
"locality" is wholly insufficient description and the respondent or anyone
else could not have come to know from that description whether 2.298
hectares of land which was required for acquisition included the land D
belonging to him. or not. The non-disclosure of the "locality" with percision,
invalidates the notification and renders the publication of notice a mean-
ingless formality. [664C-D]
_2.4. Apart from this, even the "public purpose" which has been E
mentioned in the schedule to the notification as "residential" is hopelessly
vague and conveys no idea about the purpose of acquisition rendering the
notification as invalid in law. There is no indication as to what type of
residential accommodation was proposed or for whom or any other
"' details. [665C-D]
~ F
2.5. The State cannot acquire the land of a citizen for building some
residence for another, unless the same is in "public interest" or for the
benefit of the "public" or an identifiable section thereof. In the absence of
the details about the alleged "public purpose" for which the land was
sought to be acquired no one could comprehend as to why the land was G
being acquired and therefore was prevented from taking any further steps
in the matter. [665D-EJ
2.6. Besides, there is also non-application of mind by the authorities
concerned and rather casual manner in dealing with the property of the
citizen vitiating the acquisition proceedings. Whereas the letter of the H
660 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992] l S.C.R.
A Executive Engineer of the Housing Board to the Collector had indicated
that the Chairman of the Board had found the land suitable for "construe·
lion of buildings and shops under the self-financing scheme", the notifica·
tion issued under Section 4(1) makes no mention thereof and instead
declares the public purpose to be 'residential'. Again in the declaration
under Section 6(1) "public purpose" has been stated to be "housing scheme
B
of Housing Board" and not "construction of buildings and shops under the
self financing scheme". Admittedly, apart from this letter there was no
other material with the State Government and, therefore, it is not under·
standable on what material, did the State Government state the "public
purpose" in difterent terms in the notifications issued under Sections 4
C and 6 (1). These factors go to expose non-application of mind by the
authorities while issuing the notification in question and it appears that
they were not even sure about the "public purpose" for which the land was
sought to be acquired. [666F-H; .667A-B)
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition (C)
D No. 8788 of 1989.
From the Judgment and Order dated 11.3. 1989 of Madhya Pradesh
High Court in M.P. No. 514 of 1984.
WITH
E
Special Leave Petition (C) No. 2724 of 1992.
D.D. Thakur, S.K. Gambhir, V. Gambhir, Sakesh Kumar, Rajinder
Singhvi and Satish K. Agnihotri for the Petitioners.
F Shanti Bhushan, U.N. Bachawat, S. Atreya and Sushi! Kumar Jain
for the Respondents.
The Judgement of the Court was delivered by
DR. A.S. ANAND, J. On 12th of April, 1984, the Collector Mandsaur,
G Madhya Pradesh, issued a Notification, purporting to be under Section 4(1)
of the Land Acquisition Act, 19S4 (hereinafter called the 'Act') to the
effect that land detailed in the schedule attached thereto was required for
a public purpose. The Notification further discloses that the State Govern-
ment being of the opinion that the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section
H 17 of the Act were applicable in respect of the land required to be
M.P. HOUSING BOARD v. MOHD. SHAFI [ANAND, J.] 661
acquired, it dispensed with the enquiry under Section 5(A) of the Act. A
The schedule to the notification provided as follows:
SCHEDULE
Particulars of Land B
Distt. Tehsil City/ Approxi- Authorised Detail of
Village mate area Officer under public
in Heelers Section 4(2) purpose
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Mandsaur Mandsaur Mandsaur 2.298 Executive Residen-
c
Engineer M.P. ti al
Housing
Construction
Board, Ratlam.
D
The aforesaid notification was followed by a declaration under Sec-
tion 6(1) of the Act, issued on April 16, 1984. In the schedule to that
declaration, Khasra number of the proposed land with respective areas
were provided and in column (2) requiring the mention of "public purpose"
for which the land is required it was stated for "housing scheme of Housing E
Board". In column (3), it was stated that the plant of land may be inspected
in the office of the Collector''.
The respondent, herein, filed a writ-petition in the High Court of
Madhya Pradesh, challenging the validity of the notification issued under
Sections 4(1) and 17(1) of the Act as also the declaration made under F
Section 6(1) of the Act on various grounds. The main thrust of the
challenge was that the notification under Section 4(1) of the Act was vague
and invalid for non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of the
Act and that recourse to the urgency prmisions under Section 17(1) of
the Act could not be had since the land was not "waste or arable" which is
the sine qua 11011 for exercising powers under Section 17(1) of the Act. The
G
challenge to the notifications succeeded and the acquisition proceedings
were quashed by the High Court by the judgment impuged before us by
the Madhya Pradesh Housing Board through this Special Leave Petition.
Relevant facts necessary for the disposal of the special leave petition H
662 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992) 1 S.C.R.
A are as follows:
The executive engineer of the Madhya Pradesh Housing Construc-
tion Division on 3.9.1983 addressed a letter to the Land Acquisition
Officer, Madhya Pradesh Housing Construction Board, Bhopal,. stating
therein that during the tour of the Chairman of the Board, he had found
B private land measuring 2.29 hectares situate near the bus stand. in
Mandsaur city, to be "absolutely suitable for the construction of buildings
and shops under self financing scheme'" and requested that the said land
be acquired on priority basis. On receipt of this letter, the Land Acquisi-
tion Officer, addressed a communication, on 15.2.1984, to the Secretary,
c Government of Madhya Pradesh, Housing Department, with a request to
forward the matter along with his recommendation to the Collector, Rat-.
lam for favour of publication of a notification in the M.P. Gazette for the
acquisition of the said land under Sections 4(1) and 17 of the Land
Acquisition Act". On April 12, 1984, the Collector Mandsaur, M.P., issued
the notification under Sections 4(1) and 17(1) of the Act and followed it
D by a declaration under Section 6 of the Act on. April 16, 1984. )
Mr. D.D. Thakur, learned Senior Advocate, appearing for the appel-
lant as.sailed the findings of the High Court by characterising the same as ··
based on "hypertechnicalities". Argued Mr. Thakur that since acquisition
E of land had been made at the request of the Housing .Board of a large
extent of land, the absence of providing detailed particular> of the land or
the locality where it was situate, could not vitiate the notification, more so
when sufficient particulars had been provided in the notification issued
under section 6(1) of the Act wherein it had also been indicated that the
site plan of the land was available in the office of lhe Collector.
F
It was also argued that the "public. purpose" mentioned in the
schedule to the notification issued under Sections 4(1) and 17(1) of the
Act, as also in the notification issued under Section 6(1) of the Act, was
sufficiently clear and the finding of the High Court that the notifications
G were vague on that account was incorrect. Mr. Thakur; further submitted
that the absence of a finalised housing scheme could not vitiate the acquisi-
tion proceedings and that the High Court fell in error in holding that
recourse could not be had to the urgency provisions under section 17 of
the Act.
H IL is settled law that the process of acquisition has to start with a
M.P. HOUSING BOARD v. MOHD. SHAFI [ANAND, J.j 663
notification issued under Section 4 of the Act, which is mandatory, and even A
in cases of urgency, the issuance of notification under Section 4 is a condition
precedent to the exercise of any further powers under the Act. Any notifica·
tion which is aimed at depriving a man of his property, issued under Section
4 of the Land Acquisition Act has to he strictly construed and any serious
lapse on the part of the acquiring authority would vitiate the proceedings and
cannot he ignored by the courts. The object of issuing a notification under
8
Section 4 of the Act is two-fold. First, it is a public announcement by the
Government and a public notice hy the Collector to the effect that the land,
as specified therein. is needed or is likely to be needed by the Government
for the "public purpose" mcntionc<l thcrcin; and secondly, it authorises the
<le part mental officers or officers of the local authority, as the case may he to c
<lo all such acts as arc mentioned in Section 4(2) of the Act. The notification
has to he published in the locality and particularly persons likely to be
affected hy the proposal have lo be put on notice that such an activity is afoot.
The notification is, thus, required to giv!.: \Vith sufficient clarity not only the
"public purpose" for which the acquisition proceedings arc being com- D
m1.:nc('.d hut also the ''loc;dity" \\'here th1.: land is situate \Vith as full a <l1.:scrip-
tion as possible of the land proposed to be acquired to enable the "interested"
persons to know as to which land is being acquirL"<l and fur \Vh.at purpos1.: and
to take further st1.:ps undi:r the Act by filing ohjL"ction~ etc., since it is open
lo such person~ to can\'aS~ the non-suitability of the land for the alleged
"public purpose" also. If a notilication under Section 4(1) of the Act is E
defective and docs not comply with the requirements of the Act, it not only
vitiates the notification, but also renders all subsequent proceedings con-
nected with the acquisition, bad.
A reference to the Schedule appended tu the Section 4(1) nntifica· F
tion, in the instant casl!. ~hows thal th1: only descn"ption given ahout the
particulars of 2.298 hectares uf the land proposed to be acquired is that
the ::ia1nc is situate in Distlict A1andsaiu; Tchsil Mandsaur, ~'ii/age Afandsaur.
ln column (6) the "'puhlic purpose" for which the land is required is staled
tu be "residcmia/"
G
ln the schedule to the notification issued under Section 6 of the Act,
particulars of khasra number with the extent of land in each khasra number
have been provided. The "public purpose" has been stated to be 'for
~ housing scheme of hnusing board" and it is also stated against column (~)
that "the plan of the land may be inspected in the ofticc of the Collector". H
664 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992] l S.C.R.
A Why these particulars were not given in the Section 4 notification has not
been explained.
The High Court found that Mandsaur is no more a small village but
a big city, which is divided into 35 municipal wards having a population of
more than 80,000 people and is spread over an area of 25 sq, kms. and the
B absence of the details of the land or the locality where the same is situate,
vitiates the notification for non-compliance with the provisions of the Act.
The description of the land in the notification issued under Sections
4(1) and 17 (!),in our opinion, is very cryptic. Not only no khasra numbers
C have been given, even the precise "locality" has not been indicated. Mere
mention of Mandsaur, which is spread over an area of 25 sq. kms. and is
divided into various municipal wards, against the "locality" is wholly insuf-
ficient description and the respondent or anyone else could not have come
to know from that description whether 2.298 hectares of land which was
required for acquisition included the land belonging to him or not. The
D non-disclosure of the "locality'' with precision, invalidates the notification
and renders the publication of notice a meaningless formality.
In Narendrajit Singh and Anr. v. State of U.P. & Anr., [1970] 3 SCR
278, while dealing with the requirements of a valid notification under
Section 4 of the Act, this Court observed that the defect of non-mention
E
of the locality where the proposed land was situate in the notification was
a very serious defect vitiating the notification. In that case, the schedule.
attached to the notification issued under Sections 4(1) and 17(1) of the Act
read as follows:
F "SCHEDULE
Distt. Pargana Mauza Approxi- For what purpose Remarks
mate area required
Rampur Bilaspur Gokal 125 acres For the rehabilitation of
Nagari East Pakistan displaced
G
families, under the
Ministry of
Rehabilitation,
Government of India.'1
H This Court opined that though Section 4(1) does not require the
M.P. HOUSING BOARD'" MOHD. SHAFI [ANAND, J.] 665
'
identity of the land which may ultimately be acquired to be specified with A·
too many details but it undoubtedly casts upon the government a duty to
"specify tire locality i11 whiclr the /a11d is needed". In Nare11drajit Sing/r's case
(supra), this Court also repelled the argument identical lo the one raised
by Mr. Thakur that since detailed particulars of the land had been given
in the notification issued under Section 6(1) of the Act, the absence of B
those particulars in Section 4(1) notification was of no consequence.
The Court said:
"In our view the defect in a notification under s.4(1) cannot be
cured by giving full particulars in the notification under s.6(1)." C
Apart from the defect in the impugned notification, as noticed above,
we find that even the "public purpose" which has been mentioned in the .
schedule lo the notilication as "reside/Ilia/" is hopelessly vague and conveys
no idea about the purpose of acquisition rendering the notilication as
invalid in la\v. There is no indication as to what type of residential accom- D
modation was proposed or for whom or any other details. The Stale cannot
acquire the land of a citizen for building some residence for
another, unless
the same is in "public interest" or for the benefit of the "public" or an
identilia,hle section thereof. In the absence of the details about the alleged
··public purpose·· for which the land was sought to be acquired, no-one
E
could comprehend as Lo why the land was being acquired and therefore
was prevented from taking any further steps in the matter.
In Mu11shi Singh & Others etc. etc. v. U11ion of India etc. etc., [197311
y SCR 973 the notification issued under Section 4(1) of the Act had stated
->. the purpose for acquisition as "for planned development of the area". A F
note was abo appended in the notification to the effect that the "plan of
the ' land ma\'. he inspected in the oflice of the Collector, Meerul". This
Court, dealing with the requiremenh of Section 4 in the context of the
necessity lo stale with clarity the ··puhlic purpose" in the notification,
ohserved:
G
"it is apparent from suh-s. (2) that the public purpose which
has to he staled in sub-s. (1) of s.4 has to be panicularised
bequse unless that is d~ne the various matters which arc
mentioned in sub-s. (2) cannot be carried out; for instance, the
officer concerned or his servants and \Vorkmen cannot do any H
666 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992] 1 S.C.R.
A act necessary to ascertain whether it is suitable for the purpose
for which it is being acquired. If the public purpose stated in
s. 4(1) is planned development of the area without anything
more it is extremely difficult to comprehend how all the matters
set out in sub-s. (2) can be carried out by the officer specially
authorised in this behalf and by his servants and workmen".
B
[p. 981]
The Court then went on to say:
s.
"As already noticed in the notifications under 4 all that was
stated was that the land was required for "planned development
c of the area". There was no indication whatsoever whether the
development was to be of residential and building sites or of
commercial and industrial plots nor was it possible for any one
interested in the land sought to be acquired to find out what
kind of planned development was under contemplation i.e.
D whether the land would be acquired and the development made
by the Government or whether the owners of properties would
be required to develop a particular area in a spccilicd way ...
[p.981)
This Court finally held that owing to the vagueness and indefiniteness
E of the "'public purpose" stated in the notification under Section 4(1) of the
Act, the acquisition proceedings were bad and the entire acquisition
proceedings were quashed. Mwalri Si11glr's case (supra) was at a much
better footing t.han the instant case, where the only disclosu.re of the "public
purpose'" is stated to be "reside11tia/".
F
That apart, this case also discloses non-application of mind by the
authorities concerned and rather casual manner in dealing with the proper-
ty of the citizens vitiating the acquisition procee~ings. Whereas the letter
of the Executive Engineer of the Housing Board to the Collector had
indicated that the Chairman of the Board had found the land suitable for
G "co11stmctio11 of buildings and shops u11der tire self fina11ci11g sclreme"; the
notification issued under Section 4(1) makes no mention thereof instead
declares the "public purpose" to be "reside11tia/". Again, in the declaration
issued under Section 6 (1) of the Act the "public purpose"' has been stated
to be "lro11si11g sclreme of Ho11si11g Board" and not "construction of buildings
H and shops under the self financing scheme· ! Admittedly, apart from the
M.P. HOUSING BOARD v. MOHD. SHAFI (ANAND, J.) 667
letter referred to above, there was no other materi.;I with the State Govern- A
men! and, therefore, it is not understandable on what material, did the
State Government state the "public purpose' in different terms in the
notifications issued under Sections 4 and 6(1). No explanation has been
furnished by the learned counsel as to why different public purposes were
mentioned in the letter of the Board and the two notifications issued under
Sections 4 and 6 of the Act. These factors go to expose non-application of B
mind by the authorities while issuing the impugned notification and it
appears that they were not even sure about the "public purpose" for which
the land was sought to be acquired.
We have, in view of the above discussion, not been persuaded to take C
a view different than the one taken by the High Court and we agree with
the High Court that the impugned notification is vitiated on account of
being vague and for non-compliance· with the mandatory requirements o[
the Act.
In the view that we have taken, it is not necessary for us to express D
an) opinion on the question as to whether recourse could at all be had, in
the insl"nl case, lo the urgency provisions or the effect of the absence of
even a draft or contemplated scheme, lei alone a finalised scheme prepared
by the Housing Board, before the issuance of declaration under section 6
of the Act.
E
Special Leave Petitions (Civil) are, therefore, dismissed.
N.P.V. Petitions dismissed.
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